dupe

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈdüp How to pronounce dupe (audio)
 also  ˈdyüp
: one that is easily deceived or cheated : fool

dupe

2 of 4

verb (1)

duped; duping

transitive verb

: to deceive or cheat easily : to make a dupe (see dupe entry 1) of
was duped into buying a counterfeit
duper noun

dupe

3 of 4

noun (2)

plural dupes
informal
: duplicate
This new breed of browsing utility programs can also help you organize the pages you've retrieved, eliminating dupes, throwing out unwanted pages, and storing the useful ones in efficient hierarchies of folders.Fortune
"I dropped off the keys … before I left this morning, but I still have a dupe on my key ring."Stephen King

dupe

4 of 4

verb (2)

duped; duping; dupes

transitive + intransitive

informal
: duplicate, copy
dupe a disc
The video quality was degraded by repeated duping.

Examples of dupe in a Sentence

Verb (1) They duped her out of $300. we were duped into thinking the dummy was a real alien
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The 31-year-old home baker is milling her own corn to make homemade Corn Flakes, a Kellogg’s product dupe, and posted a TikTok of the recipe—as well as a call to action to boycott the snack food conglomerate. @rocketman_dee Did someone say boycott? Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024 The soon-to-be-bride then aired her frustration at the time her mother spent trying to look into the ring and find a less expensive dupe. Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 Lewis has seen interest grow in a TikTok Shop dupe that costs $11. Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 This Amazon dupe serves the same purpose, and the price for the two-piece set can’t be beat. Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2024 This feature is based on the user’s search habits but, this makes dupes even easier to find than before. Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 11 Dec. 2023 To dupe organizations, fraudsters primarily used text messages (50%), fake websites (48%), social media (37%), hacking (31%), business email compromise scams (31%), and deepfakes (11%). Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024 Hough's look was an exact dupe for Gaga's, including the diamond necklace, which appears to be built into the gown. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2023 Find it on Amazon The Bodysuit That Accentuates Your Curves Described by happy customers as the perfect Skims’ dupe, this flattering bodysuit can cinch you in at the waist and achieve a sleek silhouette for your outfits. Kat Romero, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Overall, this is a great option for those who love to paint their own nails or looking to dupe a salon-looking manicure from home and feel confident with their touch-up skills. Kate Watson, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024 How to spot a scam Look out for these other tell-tale signs that an email or call that appears to be coming from Amazon or another legitimate business is the work of a scam artist trying to dupe you. Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2023 Artificial intelligence gives scammers even more ways to dupe consumers. Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2023 Enter Email Sign Up James alleges Trump exaggerated his wealth to dupe banks and insurers into giving him better terms on financial transactions. Erik Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023 Using a multitude of shell companies, aliases and fly-by-night phone providers allegedly under their control, the people behind the network — which CNN has previously reported on — had sought to dupe unwitting consumers into buying shoddy service contracts for their vehicles since 2018. Brian Fung, CNN, 4 Aug. 2023 The Kremlin could easily have staged a less conspicuous death that would be more likely to dupe outsiders into wondering whether Prigozhin had died of natural causes. Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 23 Aug. 2023 Costco’s Kirkland brand basically dupes many items. Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 12 June 2023 This stratagem typically involves an attempt to dupe victims into visiting a fraudulent site that claims to offer payment services, discounts, investment opportunities, loans, etc. David Balaban, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dupe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb (1)

French, from Middle French duppe, probably alteration of huppe hoopoe

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1681, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1704, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1900, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dupe was in 1681

Dictionary Entries Near dupe

Cite this Entry

“Dupe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dupe. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dupe

1 of 2 noun
: one who is easily deceived or cheated

dupe

2 of 2 verb
duped; duping
duper noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dupe

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